020618_YKBP_A8.pdf

8 Broadcaster Press
February 6, 2018 www.broadcasteronline.com
State Historical Society Awards Five Historic Preservation Grants
PIERRE, S.D. -- Historic preservation
projects in Custer, Faulkton, Mitchell, St.
Onge and Yankton have received matching grants from the South Dakota State
Historical Society.
“2018 is the 21st year for this historic
preservation grants program,” said Jay D.
Vogt, director of the State Historical Society. “In 2017 we awarded $123,869 between
10 projects which had matching funds of
$292,993. The resulting total public-private investment is $416,862. This program
is designed to encourage restoration or
rehabilitation of historic properties and
is one more way we can promote and
protect our history and culture.”
The grants are awarded through the
State Historical Society’s Deadwood Fund
grant program. Funding for the program
is from Deadwood gaming revenue earmarked by state law for historic preservation projects throughout the state. The
program is administered by the society’s
State Historic Preservation Office at the
Cultural Heritage Center in Pierre.
The following projects were the most
recent to receive grants to supplement
their work:
• Custer: 1881 Courthouse Museum,
built in 1880, a $15,000 grant was awarded
for foundation repair and stabilization
along with exterior rehabilitation, which
includes the columns and balustrade on
the porticos;
• Faulkton: Pickler Mansion, built in
1882-1894, received $20,000 for continued
stabilization by repairing beams and floor
joists;
• Mitchell: Mitchell National Bank, built
in 1907, received $10,000 for roof repair;
• St. Onge: Anderson-Ridley Barn, built
in 1902, received $5,540 to repoint the
barn walls; and
• Yankton: United Church of Christ,
built about 1890, received $10,000 for
stained glass window repair.
These new recipients represent a total
award amount of $60,540 and matching
funds of $135,495. The total public-private investment is $196,035. These figures
are reflected in the 2017 statistics above.
Deadwood Fund grants are awarded
twice a year with grant application
deadlines of Feb. 1 and Oct. 1. They are
reviewed at the spring and winter meetings of the State Historical Society’s board
of trustees. For more information on the
Deadwood Fund grant program, contact
the State Historic Preservation Office at
the Cultural Heritage Center, 900 Governors Drive, Pierre, SD 57501-2217; telephone (605) 773-3458; or website history.
sd.gov/Preservation.
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Planting
Trees Now
By Gov. Dennis Daugaard
“The best time to plant a tree was 20
years ago. The second-best time is now.”
This old saying is a good description of
how we have approached managing state
government in the last seven years.
Before us come so many issues – deferred maintenance, highways, criminal
justice, teacher pay – that can’t be solved
in one year. But a start must be made.
We could kick the can down the road, but
the problem would only worsen. And so,
we must do what we can, with patience,
persistence and attention to small details,
to be a good steward of the state and its
assets.
When I was running for governor, I
promised to analyze state-owned property
and right-size or sell unneeded assets. In
the 1800s, when South Dakota became a
state, we housed people with mental or
physical problems in large, state-owned
institutions, often for life. We built big
state hospital campuses in Yankton, Redfield and Custer. Sadly, many people were
often sent away, and forgotten by their
families.
We now know that, in most cases, it is
better to serve our citizens in their homes
and communities, often through community-based providers. But the state has continued to own these large, old campuses,
decades later. Some of the buildings were
still being used, but others had fallen into
disrepair after being vacant for decades.
It’s irresponsible to let vacant buildings
fall in on themselves, and also irresponsible to spend taxes maintaining unneeded
property. It’s better to return these properties to the tax rolls.
We began to address this in Yankton
at the Human Services Center. We de-
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molished several dilapidated buildings,
sold land that was no longer needed, and
negotiated a lease-purchase with the local
Historical Society to preserve the historic
Mead Building. That restoration, funded
by charitable gifts and local taxes, is wellunderway, and the progress is impressive.
We have addressed this problem on
other state campuses – selling surplus
property in Redfield, Custer County
and Minnehaha County. We sold STAR
Academy to a local entrepreneur and the
Plankinton training school campus to the
for-profit company that was leasing and
operating it. And the Board of Regents is
exploring options to better use the School
for the Deaf campus in Sioux Falls.
This philosophy extends to current
state buildings as well. We must properly
maintain them, so future governors and
legislatures aren’t left with more rundown
buildings. We have set a goal of appropriating two percent of value in maintenance
and repair of state buildings, including
university buildings. This year I’m proposing to add state-owned technical institute
buildings as well.
On our farm, when I was a boy, we
always had a big garden, and we ordered
plants and seeds by mail from Gurney’s
in Yankton. With every order, Gurney’s
would always enclose a “bonus” item, as a
gift. One year, our bonus was a hackberry
bare-root seedling, only a foot long. My
dad and I planted that seedling, and now,
50 years later, it’s strong and tall.
Five decades from now, when a new
generation of South Dakotans is at the
helm, I have no doubt they will benefit
from the trees we are planting today. We
are sowing seeds which will leave our
state better than we found it.
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